First edition of our favourite title in the entire Physiologie catalogue, in which the author anatomises the cult of the Parisian flâneur with the help of the iconic wood engraved vignettes of Alophe, Daumier and Maurisset. These cheap little chapbooks, Physiologies, published in their thousands, were a defining feature of French nineteenth century publishing, feeding a craze which swept Paris in the 1830s and 40s. The figure of the flâneur, walking the streets and being absorbed the city crowd, was equally definitive; his occupation elevated to that of philosophical aesthetic by the likes of Baudelaire. Eagerly collected from an early date, individual Physiologies were often bound in small groups so are uncommon with wrappers entirely intact.